The Founder of Qi Cultivation, Reincarnates?

Chapter 377 374- Battle At The Southern Border: Intensified Tension

“Hm? What’s happening?”

Long Feng mumbled upon realizing all those gazes that were fixed on the battle arena abruptly vanished. If it were just one or two maybe it would look so odd, but all of them, a little over a dozen experts, suddenly left at the same time.

‘Seems like something is up.’

Long Feng thought before a blue radiance drew his attention back to the stage.

Lihua’s Water Divine Soul Pearl pulsate with rippling energy before the blue radiance it was releasing faded away.

Ji Niu and Lihua’s figures then appeared on the stage.

However, immediately as Ji Niu appeared, every male, and even some women in the audience gawked at her current appearance.

Voluptuous! Curvaceous! Stunning!

Ji Niu’s clothes were in tatters leaving her body to be covered with only a few of Lihua’s silk ribbons.

The sight had caught most people off guard that an audible silence washed over the once bustling audience.

Ji Niu knelt on the ground trying to make herself as small as possible as she desperately tried to clutch to her remaining pieces of clothing. Her face was beet-red and unlike previous times when she was flirtatious, this time she seemed to genuinely bashful and embarrassed.

She glared at Lihua, but upon Lihua sweeping her gaze across her. Like she was suffering from severe trauma her heartbeat increased, and images flashed in her mind of what she had just gone through. Ji Niu instinctively thought about running away, if she had to endure that experience once again she might not be able to keep her sanity.

Even when she was fighting vicious Sea Beasts on a regular basis, the methods Lihua employ to torture her were just too much for a girl to take. It wasn’t about physical pain but rather she was mentally scarred.

Lihua was a girl herself, and being from the Zhi Clan that dealt with intelligence gathering so a lot of torture, Lihua knew where to target Ji Niu to frighten her to death.

Over at the opposing side of the stage, Ji Mei upon seeing her sister like this had her expressionless face change to a frown. Her cold eyes swept across Lihua.

Lihua felt her gaze and turn to look at her.

The two beauties gazes clashed, but neither showed a sign of weakness.

It took the actions of Shi Lei leaping onto the stage towards Ji Niu to break the increasing tension between these women. Though this small clash did not go unnoticed by the audience.

The Borderners in the audience upon seeing Lihua clashing with their Goddess Ji Mei, caused thoughts of where these Mainlanders came from plagued their minds.

First, it was Cheng Li, then it was Wu Kai and now it was Ji Niu.

Even though the first two were considered draws, it was obvious the two from the Mainland weren’t weak by any means. And even now that Ji Niu lost with some strange technique, that means the Mainlanders were in the lead.

“Where are these Mainlanders from? To think the Mainland would produce disciples like these, at first I thought they were arrogant like the rest thinking to challenge our genius but now I realize they aren’t so simple.”

“My first impression was the same. But did you see that green-haired youth's movements in battle with Cheng Li? There was no hesitation in his attacks and he wasn’t flustered under Cheng Li’s attacks that were aimed at his vitals. At the very least he seemed to have gone through sufficient life-and-death battles to hone his Martial Arts. The same must be for all of them.”

Slowly but surely, the Borderners' impression of Yang Su and the rest began to change. They started seeing them as true opponents not to be underestimated.

But whether this was a good thing or a bad thing was up for debate.

Because as of now, each and every one in the battle arena who was here to leave for the Star Bound Continent was being stared down by the Borderners.

A sense of something slumbering beginning to awaken was felt in the entire battle arena as if it was provoked awake.

All the Mainlanders in the battle arena felt their scalps go numb upon feeling this terrifying sensation.

However, one brave disciple mustered up his courage before yelling out in provocation.

“We aren’t afraid! As much as you used to look down on us, from this moment on you have to acknowledge that our geniuses are in no way inferior to yours!!”

This seemed to spark something in the other disciples' hearts and like wildfire, these disciples' hearts began to burn with passion.

“That’s right! Of course, we wouldn’t dare forget the sacrifices of you Borderners to keep us safe, but for some of us if given the chance we wouldn’t hesitate to swap positions with you. DON’T LOOK DOWN ON US MAINLANDERS!!”

The disciples from the Mainland that were forced to lower their heads while walking in the Southern Border City suddenly felt like they were being heard.

Who here wasn’t from the Maple Continent? As a cultivator one has to have aspirations that drive one forward. Despite every individual having aspirations of their own, there was one that should be the same between every single cultivator and even mortals, and that was to protect their home.

It was a natural collective instinct to protect the place you were born. Whether it was a small village, a large city, or the continent itself. It was something that no one would like to lose.

Even if you had a hard life and resent the place you were born, then that’s fine. As much as there were people like that, there were people who would do anything to have a place to call home.

These were the thoughts of the Mainlanders who still chose to come to the Southern Border despite all the contempt and ridicule they faced.

Not just the ordinary disciples and Chosen disciples who came here to leave for the Star Bound Continent, even the ones who came here long ago and stayed, all Mainlanders at this moment were staring back at these Borderners without backing down.

Seeing this sudden retaliation by these Mainlanders, more than a few Borderners in the audience were taken aback.

But this just further awoke the sleeping giant from its slumber.

“Good! Good! Good! The once oppressed group is rising up to their oppressors? We welcome it anytime! But know this, when you get knocked back down from here, the oppression will increase a thousandfold!!”

“Hahaha!! That’s right, you might be in the lead currently, but now it’s the start of the match-up of Southern Border Beast Rankings' top three rankers. From here on you’ll really see what it takes to fight against the Sea Beasts at this border.”

Slowly, the spar between the two groups went from a simple spar to becoming the spearhead of the conflict between the oppressed Mainlanders and the domineering Borderners.

The tension in the battle arena intensified beyond anything imaginable until the air became stifling.

On the stage, Shi Lei moved and appeared next to Ji Niu.

“Sister Ji Niu, are you alright?”

Despite the innocent and genuinely worried expression Shi Lei had on his face as he stared at her, Ji Niu snapped her head to glare at him before her hand moved.

WHACK!

CrUnCh!

After the sound of Ji Niu’s fist meeting Shi Lei square in the nose caused audible cracking noise to echo out, Ji Niu spat.

“Pervert! Where are you looking?!”

“Ugh”

Shi Lei groan and held his bloody nose. Confused he stuttered out.

“I-I wasn’t looking at anything, sister Ji Niu.”

Shi Lei had pure intentions before, however, due to this Shi Lei got the idea that there was something to look at and he unconsciously search for that something with his eyes.

Shi Lei's gaze wandered down to Ji Niu’s barely covered body and instantly more blood spurted from his nose.

Ji Niu seeing this clenched her teeth and went to pummel him again, but Shi Lei instinctively took a step back out of her reach and she couldn’t stand up in her current situation.

Ji Niu could only glare at Shi Lei threateningly before she waved her hand and conjured a whirlwind around her body obscuring it from sight.

Before long, the whirlwind around her disappeared revealing her in a new outfit and combed hair.

With this Ji Niu seemed to regain her composure and she glanced at Shi Lei who immediately turned his head to the side to avoid her gaze.

This caused Shi Lei’s eyes to land on Lihua and he instantly frowned.

“Young sister, don’t you think what you did to sister Ji Niu was a little overboard? Your intention wasn’t to defeat her but humiliate her, I can’t forgive you for that.”

As Shi Lei said that a dreadful aura slowly began to leak from his body.

Lihua upon sensing this aura frown a bit. She realize despite Shi Lei’s meek behavior, he wasn’t someone to take lightly. For him to have the position of third place on the Southern Border Beast Ranking his battle prowess must be insanely high.

As Shi Lei’s aura was pressuring Lihua, Jun below had his eyes flickered with a dangerous light. However, a hand patted his shoulder and a voice echoed out before he could move.

“Let me handle him.”

A figure that towered over Lihua suddenly appeared behind her.

Shi Lei then felt an aura no weaker than his own force his aura back.

“Hey, you seem to have the habit of picking on someone smaller than you. Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?”

Shi Lei looked up from Lihua and saw Mu Fan nonchalantly picking his ears while holding his saber in his arms.

Lihua took this as her cue to leave and she calmly left the stage, with Ji Niu doing the same as well.

The two burly young men were left standing on the stage. Mu Fan was around seven feet tall give or take, while Shi Lei was one or two inches shorter, meaning they were around the same height.

Shi Lei’s burly physique was around the same as Mu Fan's well. It wasn’t uncommon for saber users to possess a burly body as it was the most optimal condition to bring out a saber’s domineering potential.

However, Shi Lei and Mu Fan seemed to be of a different breed of saber cultivators.

Mu Fan had gained such a physique due to his Master’s Blade Symphony Legacy Cultivation Method stimulating his body’s terrifying latent potential. As for Shi Lei, it was well known he was cultivating his father’s Ravaging Void Sea cultivation method.

Even though the Ravaging Void Sea cultivation method wasn’t a Legacy Cultivation Method, it was infinitesimally close to being one.

But as for how Shi Lei gained such a physique it wasn’t due to the Ravaging Void Sea cultivation method or any Fleshly Body cultivation, but because of him gorging on high-level Sea Beast meat ever since he was young.

“I heard that Captain tried to recruit you. My father who is the General of the Extermination Battalion picked him to be in charge, so I doubt that Captain would blindly try to recruit you for nothing. You seem strong, but you-”

“Fuck, what’s all this talking for? If yer gonna fight then quit yer chattering since it’s boring me to death.”

Shi Lei paused before his eyes narrowed into slits.

Without another word, Shi Lei reached behind his back and grabbed the hilt of his saber while simultaneously taking a step forward.

It was strange, Shi Lei’s figure didn’t leave any trace when he moved and his very existence seemed to vanish into thin air. Only when he was in front of Mu Fan calmly slashing down with his glowing blue saber did his presence return.

Mu Fan smirked at this as it seemed this fight was going to be an interesting one.